Field
The present disclosure relates to detector systems, and more particularly, to detector systems having stray light suppression.
Description of the Related Art
Detector systems are utilized in a variety of imaging or thermal detection applications to detect infrared radiation. For example, the detectors may be in form of pixel arrays that register incident infrared radiation received from a radiation source or a scene. An integrated circuit generates a signal based on the incident infrared radiation. Background noise in the form of, for example, shot noise generated by unwanted or stray thermal radiation from any emissive structure lying outside the solid angle of incident source or scene radiation from the optics can undesirably reduce the signal-to-noise ratio. Prior art devices have used cooled baffles or similar structures to reduce such unwanted thermal radiation. However, these baffles add to the size, weight, and power-and cost (SWaP-C) of the detector system. It is desirable to reduce or eliminate the SWAP-C associated with bulky, cooled, expensive radiation shields. Moreover, cooling systems can cause vibration-induced deflections, thus further increasing noise beyond that induced by the stray radiation. Moreover, for uncooled detectors, a cooled baffle defeats the simplicity and low cost of the detector itself. Furthermore, cooling in itself may not sufficiently reduce background radiation induced noise.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a compact detector system that suppresses stray or unwanted radiation. Furthermore, there is a need in the art for a detector system that can be easily manufactured and/or added on an existing system without a cost-prohibitive process.